7/28/2013

What do you visualise when I say 'local high street'? Sadly for many, like myself (who instantly thinks of the sorry sight that is my local East Ham high street), there is the image of empty, closed down shops, littered in between rows of betting shops, £1/99p stores, a sprinkle of chicken and chip 'eateries', and the odd powerhouse high street chain (thank you McDonald's, Starbucks, Primark etc for bringing a bit of 'glamour' to dying high streets).

Do we not want better for our local high street? Whilst generation 'next' moves in masses towards online shopping, bar the convenience of not having to stroll down the road, does one not feel any sense of despondency in the knowledge that one in five shops could close by 2018? Please tell me Sam's Chicken and Paddy Power isn't as good as it gets...

The latest campaign I'm working on is trying to change this woeful picture. Since 18 July, somewhereto_ re:store (the high street heist) has been taking over empty shops UK-wide alongside young people, bringing creative and entrepreneurial activity back to the high street. It kicked off in south London, Elephant and Castle, with an empty shop on East Street Market opening it's doors to music performances, stalls and live art by young talented locals. All the whilst campaign representative Theo Paphitis (former Dragon's Den judge) waltzed around the capital singing the #highstreetheist tune. Here's the vid highlights:

The somewhereto_ re:store campaign then marched to Manchester's Corn Exchange on 25 July, where former Pop Idol runner-up Gareth Gates, and a host of the city's young talented creatives took over an empty shop for a day of music, theatre, fashion showcases and more. And it's not just one-off days; London, Manchester, as well as Glasgow, Bangor (Northern Ireland), Cardiff, Newcastle and other parts of the UK will see local high streets get the somewhereto_ re:store treatment week by week until the close of summer.

Will this have a lasting, long term impact? One can only see, though the signs are good as young people and their communities are rallying together, reinvigorating otherwise dull, uninspiring high streets; united in a win/win situation that sees our two biggest economic assets - young people and space - put to good use. A much easier question to answer is - is this needed? Undoubtedly. If 'Closed Down' is a sign of the times, then let's think outside the box about empty shop spaces and invite young people and somewhereto_ re:store to lift the shutters and proudly leave a #highstreetheist tag for everyone to see.

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Bio

I am a journalist and digital media/content editor/manager based in London, the former digital content editor of Ctrl.Alt.Shift (Christian Aid's youth political and social issue magazine), former senior content and community manager for Livity (working specifically on Spinebreakers, somewhereto_ and Live Mag UK) - currently working as digital media manager at Excellent Development (a charity supporting communities in countries such as Kenya, India, Mozambique and Zimbabwe to transform their lives with sand dams). In the past I have freelanced for the likes of RWD, the Guardian, The Independent, MTV Staying Alive (and others). I have also been a part-time mentor for young writers at Interact Magazine, an advisor in the ‘Platforma Arts and Refugees Network’ London hub, a mentor for Channel 4's Battlefront campaigners, and one of the directors of the Youth-led Media Network (now the Youth Media Agency). In 2011, I was a London360 blogger for Media Trust's Community Channel, represented as a social reporter at the 2011 London Youth Policy Symposium, and was on the drafting committee representing as a delegate at the UNAIDS Youth Summit On HIV in Mali. On my travels, I have provided global and social news reports from the DRCongo to Vancouver. Currently I am also a trustee for the Youth Media Agency, and adviser for SetOff Magazine.